The law requires us to involve disabled people in developing this Equality & Human Rights Scheme. We went further than this and involved people with a wide range of characteristics in developing the Scheme. This section explains how we did this.

Because this Scheme builds upon our recent Disability Equality Scheme, published in December 2009, we have also included some references to involvement activities which took place earlier in 2009. You can find out details about this by looking at the Disability Equality Scheme or by getting in touch with one of the equality leads.

Priorities identified from involvement activities

These are the top priorities people said we should focus on in our Scheme:

1. Staff should have more positive attitudes to equality, diversity and Human Rights.
   
2. Barriers that stop people from accessing health services, or benefiting from them, should be tackled. This includes communication barriers.
   
3. NHS Lothian should be an equal opportunities employer whose workforce reflects the diversity of the community it serves, and all staff can meet their potential.
   
4. NHS Lothian enables all parts of the community to live healthier lives, and works with partner organisations to build more cohesive communities.

Our action plan contains commitments to help us achieve these priorities. 

Equality & Human Rights Workshop

We ran a one-day workshop on 13 October to set out our initial plans for a single equality scheme which also included actions to promote Human Rights. This was attended by individuals and representatives with a wide range of diversity characteristics from across Lothian. The workshop broadly supported the proposal that a single equality scheme be developed and suggested some key elements that should be contained in the document. A report is available from this event, setting out the issues raised and recommendations made.

Diversity monitoring: There was a good age range, with participants in their 20s to their 60s. A number of participants indicated that they were disabled. Participants were largely White Scottish but two people were from ethnic minority backgrounds. The gender split was approximately even with around 60% female. Religious belief and sexual orientation were indicated but are not described here for confidentiality reasons.

Evaluation: The venue, papers and programme for the workshop were rated highly by most respondents, and most gave high ratings for their ability to contribute to the discussions. One respondent felt that more real-life examples could have been used. The pace of the workshop was felt by most to be about right and most respondents rated the food and refreshments highly, although there was one comment that these could have been healthier. All respondents felt that the workshop was useful, with most scoring the event fairly highly (average rating 7.6 out of 9). One person felt that more time was needed explaining the purpose of the event.

Equality & Human Rights Steering Group

This group oversaw the work to develop the Equality & Human Rights Scheme. There were four meetings of the group between 16 November 2009 and 6 May 2010. Ten members were drawn from participants in the workshop above and included representatives of every equality strand. You can ask us for copies of the minutes from the meetings of this group. This group also carried out an equality impact assessment of the Scheme.

Diversity monitoring: The gender split of the group was approximately even. Several members indicated that they were disabled and this included sensory impairments. There was a reasonable mix of ethnic backgrounds and the age distribution ranged from 21-30 to 61-70 years of age. Religious belief and sexual orientation were indicated but are not described here for confidentiality reasons.

Evaluation: We are currently awaiting the results of an evaluation exercise.

Involvement event

This all-day event took place on 14 December 2009. Over 30 people took part. It aimed to involve a wide range of people with an interest in NHS Lothian including patients, patient representatives and community members in deciding key priorities for the 3 year action plan. You can ask us for a copy of the report from this event.

Diversity monitoring: The age range for this event was older than for other activities, with most participants aged over 50 and several over 70. About one third of respondents indicated a disability, and there were a small number of non-White ethnic groups represented. A wide range of religious beliefs were noted. The gender split was around 60% female. Sexual orientation results were obtained but are not described here for confidentiality reasons.

Evaluation: The venue, pre-event arrangements and refreshments were all rated highly although a number would have preferred a more central location. There were also high ratings for the programme on the day, the pace of the event and the opportunities for people to contribute to the discussions, and overall a high rating of 7.9 out of 9 was achieved for the event.

Staff workshop

This event took place on 30 March 2010. Twenty six employees of NHS Lothian took part. These were drawn from across NHS Lothian services and departments and included many different professions. The aim of the event was to identify the priorities for NHS Lothian to address to improve equality, diversity and Human Rights policy and practice as an employer. The event was supported by the Trade Unions who work with NHS Lothian. A report is available from the day.

Diversity monitoring: the age range of participants was broad, from 20s to 50s, but by far the majority were aged over 40. The gender and ethnicity range was very narrow, as all but one of the participants were female and White, although a very wide range of roles and grades was represented and a number of participants were disabled. Religious belief and sexual orientation were indicated but are not described here for confidentiality reasons.

Evaluation: the content and pace of the session were highly rated, but many participants felt that more time was needed to do justice to the issues. Overall participants rated the event at 7.9 out of 9. The gender and ethnicity imbalance were noted, and it is planned that further work to engage with lower-grade staff will take place during 2010-11.

Consultation activities

The consultation period for the Equality & Human Rights Scheme ran from 31 March until 10 May 2010. Consultation versions of the Scheme were posted on the intranet and external websites, and were distributed via email and post to individuals and through networks. In total five responses were received, two using the supplied consultation form. Both formal responses were from representatives of different disability organisations. All suggested amendments to the Scheme which have been completed where appropriate; the action plan makes clear where changes have been made.

Other events and activities to seek views from people in developing the Scheme included:

• A presentation and discussion at the Lothian Maternity Services Liaison Committee on 11 February 2010
• Two meetings with groups of people with a Learning Disability, in Midlothian (on 17 February 2010) and in Edinburgh (on 29 March 2010).
• A meeting with the West Lothian Public Partnership Forum, on 8 April 2010.
• A presentation and discussion at the NHS Lothian Involving People Group on 15 April 2010.
• A presentation and discussion with the Patient Public Participation Network at the Royal Infirmary on 27 April 2010.
• A meeting with the West Lothian Disability Equality Forum on 26 April 2010.

The consultation draft was approved by the NHS Lothian Equality & Diversity Steering Group at its meeting on 30 March 2010.